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What is a Co-op?

How can I distinguish a co-op from other organizations?

A co-op is a business, usually incorporated, that sells goods and services. It is not a charitable organization or a social service agency.

Who benefits from the co-op’s existence?

A co-op exists primarily for the benefit of its members. Many co-ops also support other parts of the community through various programs and philanthropic activities as part of their commitment to cooperative values and principles.

Who controls a co-op?

In a cooperative, members democratically control the direction of the business. In most co-ops each member gets one vote. Members elect a board of directors to monitor the business, set goals and hire management to operate their business. Ultimately, the board is accountable to the members for its decisions.

What motivates people to form a co-op?

In private or stockholder-owned businesses, individuals invest to earn a financial return. In a co-op, individuals are motivated by a shared need for certain products or services. By joining together, members gain access to products, services or markets not otherwise available to them. In other words, when forming a co-op members are motivated to become co-owners of the business primarily so that their mutual needs can be met. And co-ops return financial gains to their members, whether through discounts, lower costs or patronage refunds. People join existing co-ops for a variety of reasons. Whether it is the commitment to community, the democratic approach to business, the desire to be part of a business that is locally owned or something else “uniquely co-op” that appeals, anyone can join a cooperative!

Facts:

There are more than 29,000 co-ops in the United States with Americans holding 350 million co-op memberships.

U.S. co-ops provide over 850 thousand jobs and create more than $74 billion in annual wages with revenue of nearly $500 billion.

The majority of our country’s 2 million farmers are members of the nearly 3,000 farmer-owned cooperatives. They provide over 250,000 jobs and annual wages of over $8 billion.

More than 900 rural electric co-ops deliver electricity to more than 42 million people in 47 states. This makes up 42% of the nation’s electric distribution lines and covers 75% of our country’s land mass.

Approximately 233 million people are served by insurance companies owned by or closely affiliated with co-ops.

Food co-ops have been innovators in the areas of unit pricing, consumer protection, organic and bulk foods, and nutritional labeling.

More than 50,000 families in the U.S. use cooperative day care centers, giving co-ops a crucial role in the care of our children. About 1.2 million rural Americans in 31 states are served by the 260 telephone cooperatives.

More than 6,400 housing cooperatives exist in the U.S., providing 1.5 million homes.

The .coop web address extension has been adopted by over 3,000 co-ops and while many cooperatives may use .com or other domain extensions, when you see .coop, you can be sure that it’s a cooperative.